It took John Read seven years to develop his traps and he has switched on the first one in a nature reserve in south-west Queensland. Photograph: Michael Slezak for the Guardian
Posted on 04/18/2016 12:16:04 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
A trial of ‘grooming traps’ is aiming to eradicate one of the biggest threats to Australian wildlife – feral felines.
Robotic killers that detect feral cats, spray their fur with poison and rely on them to essentially lick themselves to death have been deployed in the Australian desert for the first time.
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Feral cats are one of the biggest threats to many of Australia’s endangered species, killing millions of animals every day throughout the country – and controlling them has proved difficult.
It took John Read, an ecologist seven years to invent and produce four of the “grooming traps”. After extensive testing, he has switched on the first one in a nature reserve in south-west Queensland.
“Cats are hard-wired to hunt,” Read said. That means they can kill dozens of animals a night but it also means they are often reluctant to eat baits since they prefer to kill an animal themselves.
“This trap targets the cats’ achilles heel,” Read said. Being fastidious groomers, cats will lick off almost anything that gets on their fur. So Read has developed a trap that exploits their tendency to try to get their numbers under control.
With four laser rangefinders, the trap detects when something moves in front of it. If it’s taller than a cat – perhaps a dingo or a koala – the top rangefinder will be triggered and it shuts down. Similarly, a rangefinder at the bottom needs to be able to see between the cat’s legs, meaning a low-slung animal like a wombat or a quoll won’t trigger it.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
For the cat lover list.
It took John Read seven years to develop his traps and he has switched on the first one in a nature reserve in south-west Queensland. Photograph: Michael Slezak for the Guardian
This is a big problem in New Zealand too.
Thanks for the ping, but I’m afraid that this might be a downer for my list.
Look for future generations of very tal and very short feral cats.
LOLOLOL!
I figured it would incense your list to civil disobedience!
:^)
I can understand the Aussies’ position, but given the fertility and hardiness of feral cats I suspect that they’re trying to drain the ocean with a teaspoon.
If the cats are a big a problem as they say, a few hundred Ruger 10/22 rifles, and a boatload of ammunition will produce a huge number of dead cats. If that doesn't work fast enough, add in a bounty and there will be too many dead cats to properly dispose.
I find it to be a problem in North Texas too. If you trap feral cats and call Fort worth animal control all they do is neuter them and return the cats to the same neighborhood.
I spent all of 1978 in Australia. Weekends were at a family farm. Shot 75 - 100 Rabbits every time we were there with 22lr. We didn’t even bother to pick them up. Thing is it didn’t even seem to ever put a dent in the population and the people there the other 5 days a week also were killing them. Cats like Rabbits are a non-native species in a ecosphere without enough large predators to balance things out. I can definitely can see a need to control the population. Problem is, unlike the 70’s I doubt there are as many people out shooting in the bush these days.
Need to release a worthy opponent to the feral cat, say, a T-Rex. That will clean up the mess.
“Look for future generations of very tal and very short feral cats.”
I immediately visualized a kind of dachshund shaped cat of the future.
Shooting them would be a lot cheaper, also.
I like cats, but people who enable the proliferation of feral cats are not thinking. And they usually seem to be the type of people who don’t give a jump about the lives of humans.
About 1973, after DROS, I was back at Ft. Eustis, VA. The post’s wildlife control officer organized feral cat hunts and supplied the .22LR ammunition.
Bet they don’t do that anymore.
I was on a hunting lease in south Texas about 10 years ago. We had feral cats there and you could have put one in a locked room with a pitbull and it would have killed and eaten the Pitbull
Evolution is a continuous process.
well every thing is always bigger and tougher in Texas
me thinks you have never seen a hunting dog on a feral cat.
like your state dog. the Blue Lacy.
have run dogs for over 35 years....most fun we have is on feral cats
Good kitty!
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